Wunder Beach During the Battle of Hue
By John Nesbit
Chief,
These photos were all taken by me on May 24, 1972. I was an ET aboard USS St Louis (LKA-116). My Condition 1-Alpha station was aboard one of the Mike boats to service the PRC-45 radio aboard. Our Mike boat carried a bunch of young Navy UDT sailors to Wunder Beach. Their job, upon hitting the beach was to conduct sabotage, primarily wiping out the electrical grid.
B-52’s had softened Wunder Beach for us, as you can see in a couple of these photos. We got our UDT boys to the beach under enemy mortar fire. They ran up the beach and disappeared into the bush. I was a peacenik from California while in the Navy.
When they lowered our Mike boat over the side on the davit, our XO leaned over the side and hollered at me “Hey Nesbit? do you have a sidearm?” “No Sir,” I replied, and so he leans over and hands me a .45 caliber pistol. And my outlook on the war changed.
Mike boat from St Louis with bomb bursts on the beach in the background
Prepping for insertion
USS Newport News (CA-148) The last of the 8 inch gun WWII Heavy Cruisers
Tales of an Asia Sailor 
Love the stories! Just a note; that ship in the first picture is not the St Louis, nor is it an LKA. It appears to be an LPD such as the Denver or the Duluth.
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Hello Kim,
Yes, that’s the Duluth. My ship was the St Louis and these are St Louis Mike boats.
I have a picture of the St Louis that was taken that morning, but it’s pretty faded.
Will send it if the Chief would like to add it here. Thank you for posting.
Kind regards, John Nesbit
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